Summary: TEHRAN (FNA)- If you're a left-brain thinker, chances
are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right
ear, according to a newly published study from Henry Ford Hospital in
Detroit.

The study -- to appear online in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head &
Neck Surgery -- shows a strong correlation between brain dominance and
the ear used to listen to a cell phone. More than 70% of participants
held their cell phone up to the ear on the same side as their dominant
hand, the study finds.

Left-brain dominant people -- who account for about 95% of the
population and have their speech and language center located on the left
side of the brain -- are more likely to use their right hand for writing
and other everyday tasks.

Likewise, the Henry Ford study reveals most left-brain dominant
people also use the phone in their right ear, despite there being no
perceived difference in their hearing in the left or right ear. And,
right-brain dominant people are more likely to use their left hand to
hold the phone in their left ear.

"Our findings have several implications, especially for
mapping the language center of the brain," says Michael Seidman,
M.D., FACS, director of the division of otologic and neurotologic
surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at
Henry Ford.

"By establishing a correlation between cerebral dominance and
sidedness of cell phone use, it may be possible to develop a
less-invasive, lower-cost option to establish the side of the brain
where speech and language occurs rather than the Wada test, a procedure
that injects an anesthetic into the carotid artery to put part of the
brain to sleep in order to map activity."

He notes that the study also may offer additional evidence that
cell phone use and tumors of the brain, head and neck may not
necessarily be linked.

Since nearly 80% of people use the cell phone in their right ear,
he says if there were a strong connection there would be far more people
diagnosed with cancer on the right side of their brain, head and neck,
the dominant side for cell phone use. It's likely, he says, that
the development of tumors is more "dose-dependent" based on
cell phone usage.

The study began with the simple observation that most people use
their right hand to hold a cell phone to their right ear. This practice,
Dr. Seidman says, is illogical since it is challenging to listen on the
phone with the right ear and take notes with the right hand.

To determine if there is an association between sidedness of cell
phone use and auditory or language hemispheric dominance, the Henry Ford
team developed an online survey using modifications of the Edinburgh
Handedness protocol, a tool used for more than 40 years to assess
handedness and predict cerebral dominance.

The survey included questions about which hand was used for tasks
such as writing; time spent talking on cell phone; whether the right or
left ear is used to listen to phone conversations; and if respondents
had been diagnosed with a brain or head and neck tumor.

It was distributed to 5,000 individuals who were either with an
otology online group or a patient undergoing Wada and MRI for
non-invasive localization purposes.

On average, respondents' cell phone usage was 540 minutes per
month. The majority of respondents (90%) were right handed, 9% were left
handed and 1% was ambidextrous.

Among those who are right handed, 68% reported that they hold the
phone to their right ear, while 25% used the left ear and 7% used both
right and left ears. For those who are left handed, 72% said they used
their left ear for cell phone conversations, while 23% used their right
ear and 5% had no preference.

The study also revealed that having a hearing difference can impact
ear preference for cell phone use.

In all, the study found that there is a correlation between brain
dominance and laterality of cell phone use, and there is a significantly
higher probability of using the dominant hand side ear.

Studies are underway to look at tumor registry banks of patients
with head, neck and brain cancer to evaluate cell phone usage.
Controversy still exists around a potential association of cell phone
use and tumors. Until this is fully understood, Dr. Seidman advises
using hands-free modes for calls rather than holding a phone up to the
side of the head.

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